Black Project
The Black Project by Bobby Keller The black project consists of some key bloodlines that have proven, when combined with other bloodlines, to produce animals that retain a heavily black coloration. Black chondros may often be refered to as "Mite-Phased" or "Melanistic". The term "Mite-Phase" refers to the temporary black speckling phase that a yearling to young adult will have as it goes through its ontogenic color shift. In most cases, this black speckling, regardless of how heavy it is, will decrease with age and maturity. However, there seems to be quite a number of examples where these yearling to young adults will retain most of their black coloration or speckling into adult hood. This genetic disposition is still not quite understood and leaves us to question why sometimes it stays and other times it diminishes with age. One such idea, is that the melanistic gene is compounded through generations and appears heavier. This is not a proven fact, but can seem to be true through several examples. One determinant that seems to help in the odds of producing a black chondro, is a particular bloodline and the bloodline you combine it with. One such bloodline is the Pepper Line. This line derived from the pairing that Greg Maxwell did in 2004 between Pepper (AZ-96-14) and My Hobbit aka "The Merauke Outcross" (TW-01-23). The offspring that were generated were some of the blackest chondros known to date. Such animals include two extreme examples in Ella Diablo (GM-04-47) pictured above (second to the right) and Darth Sidious. These two animals showed the maximization of two different bloodlines and marked the beginning of a black line chondros, so to speak.
Don't fix it if it ain't broke. The first pairing between Pepper and My Hobbit was a success and the decision to re-pair the two again came in 2006. This clutch was just as spectacular and several extreme animals were produced. One example is the infamous Joe Black (GM-06-28) who is in the collection of Kimberly Burge of Southern Chondros. Joe Black was a very unusual neonate in that he was already black! He developed into a steller adult male and he is just another example of the potency of the Pepper Line.
Moving along, and we get to one of the most iconic black chondros of all time and his name is Mr. Black (GM-06-12) pictured above (first on the left). This special animal was produced by Greg Maxwell in 2006 between Day Dream (JH-01-01) and the infamous Calico Jr. (GM-99-09). This clutch marked the future of chondro breeding in that it produced several very extreme animals that were all very different from each other. Mr. Black stood out from the rest in that, instead of developing outrageous colorations, he turned almost 90% black. There were several animals that developed heavy black pigmentation and speckling but not like his. Mr.Black and animals like him, Mr. Black Jr. and Black Jack for a few (also pictured above), represent the future of chondro breeding at its darkest form. The Black Project is something that has great potential and is heavily dependent on the animals residing in the Fine Green Tree Pythons collection. Only time will tell what the results will be, but you can bet there will be some nice surprises ahead! |
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